by Matthew Holloway | Mar 13, 2025 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a dramatic defeat for the proponents of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), along with other various apparatus of leftist governance, Tucson voters struck down the proposed Safe & Vibrant City ballot measure on Tuesday. The measure would have increased the city’s overall sales tax by a half-cent, extracting an estimated $80 million in annual revenue from taxpayers to fund a raft of left-leaning agenda items.
The final result saw 69.76% vote NO with 30.18% voting YES.
Michael Guymon, President and CEO of the Tucson Metro Chamber, told KVOA, “I am very pleased the voters supported our message of fiscal responsibility without the need to raise taxes on our community’s most vulnerable individuals.”
The No on Prop 414 coalition, a group of business owners and Tucson residents opposed to the measure, celebrated the defeat of the proposition as well stating, “The resounding defeat of Prop. 414 is an important victory for all Tucsonans and an important first step in making sure city resources go to where they can do the most good. While we celebrate that we won’t be directly funding increased surveillance and the harms of policing with every dollar we spend for the next 10 years, we understand that there are still urgent, unmet needs in the community.”
Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, also celebrated the results of the election saying, “Voters from all sides of the political aisle made the correct decision in Tucson today. This tax increase was another failed attempt by Tucson’s radical leaders to take more tax dollars from hard-working men and women to fund an insatiable leftist agenda.”
Mussi added, “We have seen over the years how Tucson officials have embraced globalist environmental, energy, and social justice propaganda and policies to steer their municipality – and even our state – into that camp. Tonight, Tucson voters rejected these efforts, rightly deciding to keep their tax dollars for themselves.”
According to AZCentral, $13.4 million of the new tax would have gone “to community and justice-related programs” with approximately two-thirds of it being directed toward public safety measures. The proposition was also strongly endorsed by Democrat former state Sen. Kristen Engel, who was recently defeated in a challenge to Republican Congressman Juan Ciscomani.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Mar 13, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
When 26-year-old Erzsi Moffatt first sought out a volunteer opportunity at Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, she had no idea it would lead to something much bigger. What started as a role helping parents access essential family care quickly evolved into a larger mission—one that she and her 24-year-old brother, Jedidiah Lyons, would take statewide. Recognizing the overwhelming need for baby essentials, they founded The Dandy Project, a nonprofit dedicated to making parenthood more accessible by providing car seats, strollers, diapers, and other necessities to families in need.
How It All Started
While seeking to volunteer at Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, Erzsi Moffatt found herself in a position to be able to work as their Boutique Manager. Since 1977, the center has provided free and confidential services, including pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, STI testing, and options counseling. It also offers parenting classes, maternity and baby supplies, and resources to help parents navigate unplanned pregnancies with confidence and support.
In this role, she assisted clients by providing essential supplies such as formula, diapers, baby equipment, and more. As she became more involved, she invited her brother, Jedidiah Lyons, to volunteer at the center, where he began teaching workshops on life skills, like budgeting and resume building.
During their time there, Erzsi and Jedidiah witnessed firsthand the meaningful impact of these services, seeing how the center’s support helps struggling parents and their children thrive.
Erzsi’s husband, Stephan, a golf professional in the community, received a career opportunity that required their family to relocate to Phoenix. While excited for her husband’s growth, Erzsi couldn’t help but feel sad to close her chapter at Hope Pregnancy Resource Center.
After sharing the news with her brother, Jed, they discussed wanting to leave a lasting contribution before departing and were reminded of the center’s long waitlist for car seats. Recognizing an opportunity to help, Jed—an entrepreneur with a background in assisting others in starting businesses—suggested they tackle the issue using surplus overstock sales, a process retailers use to cut costs on online returns and excess inventory.
Putting their heads together, they identified a vendor that allowed them to source car seats and other baby essentials at a fraction of their retail value, helping to significantly reduce the waitlist and support families in need.
Knowing that many other Pregnancy Resource Centers like Hope existed across the state, Erzsi and Jed decided to take their concept and start their own non-profit. In September 2023, they founded The Dandy Charitable Foundation, also known as The Dandy Project—a 501(c)(3) public charity with a mission to “protect, empower, and support those who do the same for the next generation.”
We had the opportunity to sit down with the brother-sister duo to learn more about their journey and the impact they hope to make.
Q: What made you decide to take on this endeavor?
Erzsi: We realized that we already had the resources to start helping families right away and trusted that we’d figure out the rest as we went. Jed and I have always embraced challenges and followed our own path, so we saw this as an opportunity to put that mindset to good use. At the very least, we knew we could make somewhat of a difference for families in need so that was reason enough to start.
Q: What inspired the mission statement for The Dandy Project, and how did you shape it?
Erzsi: Well, Jed and I spent a lot of time discussing what we wanted The Dandy Project to achieve, and we kept coming back to the growth we witnessed in clients at Hope as they navigated their journeys to parenthood. Seeing them rise to the challenge and transform through the experience is what ultimately inspired us to take on this endeavor.
As we reflected on the most impactful aspects of that growth, we realized it all came down to the ability to protect, empower, and support their own family—especially in unexpected circumstances. That understanding became the foundation of our mission.
Q: Your mission statement encompasses a broad range of support. Can you share specific ways The Dandy Project fulfills this mission in practice?
Jed: Hope Pregnancy Resource Center operates in the non-urban community of Flagstaff, Arizona. While it’s not exactly rural, it still faces unique challenges that a metropolitan center wouldn’t. We had a solid understanding of the operational needs at Hope, but knowing that many other centers existed across the state, we wanted to leave room to develop additional programs as we built relationships and identified broader needs.
I personally believe we fulfill our mission best by alleviating the financial burden that comes with having a baby. Through our program, we’re able to provide a car seat, stroller, crib, and six months’ worth of diapers and wipes to a client—all at no cost to them. What would typically cost around $1,800, we’re able to source for just $100 per client, making a significant impact on struggling families.
Q: Who does The Dandy Project primarily serve, and what does a typical client look like?
Jed: We’re fortunate that our programs are very cost-effective, which allows us to operate on a no-questions-asked basis for client intake. If someone applies for support, we provide whatever resources we have available—so ultimately, we serve anyone who is expecting or already has children.
When we partner with organizations, we focus primarily on rural communities, which means much of our outreach serves Arizona’s Native American populations. However, the clients who come to us directly come from all walks of life, and most are based in the Phoenix metro area.
Q: What is the process for clients to receive supplies from The Dandy Project?
Erzsi: Clients can apply for support directly through our website, DandyProject.org. Since we store the items in our garage and local unit, we personally drop them off to local clients ourselves.
However, distributing supplies to our community partners across the state is a bit more complex. In our first year, we were truly bootstrapping our distribution system—relying on friends, family, and our personal vehicles to transport supplies to the rural communities we serve.
Last year, we celebrated our first anniversary with a banquet, and thanks to fundraising from that event—along with additional support from a fundraiser hosted by Calvary Oro Valley Church in Tucson—we were able to purchase a used Ford E350 cargo van. This has made our distribution process significantly more cost-effective and efficient.
Q: After 18 months in operation, how would you measure the impact The Dandy Project has made so far?
Erzsi: We’re proud to share that in 2024 alone, we directly supported over 312 families and reached more than 1,000 additional families through our community partners. Seeing the tangible difference we’ve been able to make in such a short time has been incredibly exciting.
Q: What’s next for The Dandy Project?
Erzsi: Right now, we primarily operate in the northern part of the state, but we’re eager to expand further into southern Arizona, particularly the greater Tucson area. Looking ahead, I hope to become The Dandy Project’s first official employee and take our model even further, maybe reaching families even beyond Arizona.
Q: How can people get involved and support The Dandy Project?
Erzsi: Financial donations are always needed, and we are an Arizona Qualified Charitable Organization (QCO). This means that anyone filing for the 2024 tax year can take advantage of the QCO tax credit, reducing their tax liability dollar for dollar—up to $420 for individual filers or $840 for those filing jointly.
Our most immediate need is always volunteers. If you or someone you know frequently travels to communities like Flagstaff, Show Low, or Prescott, we would be incredibly grateful for your help in delivering supplies to our community partners. Your support—whether financial or hands-on—makes a real difference for families in need.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Mar 13, 2025 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
A new dashboard tracks the school closures taking place throughout Arizona.
The dashboard comes from the Common Sense Institute (CSI), a nonpartisan organization which primarily produces research on Arizona’s economy.
Since January, those schools which have closed or consolidated operated in the Maricopa, Navajo, and Yavapai counties within the following school districts: Cave Creek, Phoenix Elementary, Mesa Unified, Isaac, Edkey Inc. – Sequoia Village, and American Heritage Academy. Schools closed or consolidated included Lone Mountain Elementary School, Desert Sun Academy, Dunbar School, Heard School, George Washington Academy, and American Heritage Academy Camp Verde.
Data for the dashboard came from the Auditor General and Arizona Department of Education.
CSI also published a line graph chart detailing spending, inflation, enrollment and student proficiencies in math and reading from 2010 to 2024. This data came from the Arizona State Library, Arizona Department of Education, and Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
CSI director of policy and research, Glenn Farley, said the dashboard data indicates a pattern of declining public school enrollment rather than indefinite growth. Per this dashboard, school enrollment peaked over a decade ago.
“Arizona’s public school system was built on the assumption that enrollment would continue to grow indefinitely, but the reality has changed,” said Farley. “With district enrollment peaking over a decade ago and alternative schooling options gaining traction, closures are a natural consequence of a system adjusting to new realities.”
CSI’s dashboard reflects a severe disparity between public school spending, enrollment, and student proficiencies in math and reading. While spending increased by 80 percent since 2010, math and reading proficiencies dropped by 13 and nine percent, respectively, and enrollment dropped by one percent.
Spending far outpaced inflation, growing at over twice the rate: while spending increased by 80 percent, though inflation increased by only 36 percent.
CSI also found that the school-aged population departed from the total population trend around 2020 due to demographic changes. Combined enrollment in public kindergarten programs declined 13 percent since the 2010-11 school year, while total public school enrollment grew three percent.
The state’s school choice program, the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, grew to over 87,200 students as of Monday.
CSI clarified that demographic decline wasn’t the sole reason for changes in the school-aged population. CSI reported that charter school enrollment nearly doubled from 2020 to 2022, 55 percent of surveyed private schools experienced enrollment growth in the 2021 to 2022 school year, and homeschooling grew from two to 11 percent of the population during the pandemic (though that number dropped to around six percent in recent years).
An accompanying CSI report declared the disparities in funding, enrollment, and outcomes were signs of disconnect with the current state of enrollment and capacity.
“Charter, private, and home schools have continued growing, but Arizona’s district public school enrollment peaked over a decade ago,” read the CSI report. “A massive injection of new funding and resources over the past few years has led to significant new spending and expansion by these schools, though, which are now having to deal with the consequences of this disconnect between enrollment and capacity.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Mar 12, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The City of Phoenix has drawn the attention of the Goldwater Institute, earning a stern response from the conservative think tank to “Stop violating taxpayers’ rights.” The rebuke comes over a proposed tax increase on businesses that provide services that are precluded by the Arizona Constitution. A final city council vote on this proposal is set for March 18, 2025.
If the hike on Transaction Privilege (“TPT”) and Use Tax rates is approved, the rates go into effect July 1, 2025.
According to Goldwater, “The city of Phoenix has proposed a tax increase on businesses that provide services, claiming it needs the money because of a revenue shortfall. But the burden of the new tax increase will ultimately fall hardest on Phoenix businesses and consumers, raising the prices of services like construction contracting and lodging.” As Goldwater observes, the Arizona Constitution (Art. IX § 25) outright forbids “any county, city, town, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state, or any district created by law” from creating any new or increasing any existing transaction-based taxes on the “privilege to engage in, or the gross receipts of sales or gross income derived from, any service performed in this state.”
Notably though, the prohibition on Section 25 “does not repeal or nullify any tax, fee, stamp requirement, or other assessment in effect on December 31, 2017,” and therefore allowed the pre-2017 taxes already in place. However, as Goldwater Attorney Stacy Skankey explains, the new rates would constitute a new tax under the law.
Skankey wrote succinctly, “New or increased taxation on services violates the Arizona Constitution.”
“The Arizona Constitution has a broad understanding of the term ‘service,’ and it includes a range of covered enterprises on anything that does not produce ‘goods.'”
“Service generally includes activities involving human effort like labor, skill, or advice. The term also covers businesses in the hospitality industry such as hotels, restaurants, and bars. Many of the business classifications subject to the proposed TPT tax increase are services as that term is used in the Constitution.
“The proposal by the Phoenix City Council is a tax increase on services, and therefore, is unconstitutional. Consequently, we urge the City to disapprove of the proposed TPT tax increase and any future proposed tax that may violate the Arizona Constitution.”
As reported by AZ Free News in January, the Goldwater Institute has already launched a lawsuit against the Town of Gilbert after municipal leaders unleashed a similar service tax on Town businesses including homebuilding and short-term rental properties.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Mar 12, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Congressmen Andy Biggs (R-AZ5) and Eli Crane (R-AZ2) shared a somewhat cramped carpool video with fellow Freedom Caucus members Reps. Josh Brecheen (R-OK2) and Clay Higgins (R-LA3) last week. The group was commuting from a meeting with President Donald Trump where they discussed the implementation of the president’s policy set out in his address to a Joint Session of Congress the previous night.
The congressmen made light of the close quarters but emphasized their commitment to forwarding the president’s agenda. Higgins quippedsarcastically, “This is the luxury that your congressmen ride in,” as the congressmen laughed. “As you can see we’re in a massive limousine, you know, even though we’re being fed grilled shrimp from the front. Also there’s three of us squeezed into a two-person seat!”
Biggs told followers, “We’re coming back from the White House where we had the privilege of meeting with President Trump. It’s always a great meeting. And we just wanted to let you know that we’re on the cheap, but we are working hard for you.”
Rep. Brecheen commented on Trump’s address saying, “Great speech last night. My gosh.”
Biggs added “We’re gonna do this. We’re going to get President Trump’s mandate through, and that’s not just President Trump’s mandate. That’s the people’s mandate.”
As reported by Fox News, members of the Freedom Caucus, led by Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD), met with Trump and Harris told the outlet, “It’s a meeting with the House Freedom Caucus leadership, and then a few of the people who philosophically share our feelings about the fiscal situation. And we’re going to hear what the president has to say.”
“I’m hopeful we can get this off the ground,” Harris said. “But, again, it’s going to involve all hands on deck in the Republican conference in the House.”
Rep. Higgins shared on Saturday, “MAGA Republicans have things well in hand. The CR through September is a final step of clearing the deck for President Trump and our America First agenda. Democrat elitists who have been devouring our country are freaking out, but they’re powerless to stop us.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Mar 12, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Governor Katie Hobbs, or the staffers running her social media accounts, appear to lack mastery of the vocabulary known to native Arizonans.
The misspelling attributed to Hobbs occurred within a post announcing her support for Read Across America week.
“Reading opens doors, minds, and possibilities,” said Hobbs. “Thanks to the students at Chapparral [sic] Elementary for inviting me to be a part of your Read Across America Week.”
Hobbs visited Chaparral Elementary School and read aloud “A Walk in the Words” by Hudson Talbott to students.
Dan Coulson, former press secretary to Hobbs’ predecessor Doug Ducey, brought attention to the governor’s error.
“Please tell me Katie Hobbs isn’t teaching those kids spelling too!” posted Coulson. “Only one ‘P,’ Katie! It’s literally in the sign right behind you!”
Read Across America Week originated with the National Education Association (NEA) in 1998 through Read Across America Day to encourage childhood literacy. The celebration was originally scheduled to take place on and around the birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel — more commonly known by his pen name, “Dr. Seuss.” However, the NEA moved away from Dr. Seuss associations with the uproar over a handful of his books deemed racist in recent years: “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “If I Ran the Zoo,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.” These books are no longer published.
“Chaparral” defines lands predominantly consisting of dense shrubbery at high altitudes. Arizona contains approximately 3.5 million acres of chaparral habitat, or about four percent of the entire state’s nearly 73 million acres. Arizona’s chaparral species include those within the manzanita, acacia, juniper, and shrub live oak families, such as the birchleaf mountain-mahogany, skunkbush sumac, silktassels, hollyleaf buckhorn, cliffrose, desert olive, Palmer oak, Arizona white oak, Emory oak, pinyon pine, juniper, and desert ceanothus. Arizona chaparral also commonly contains succulents and wildlife found commonly within woodland or grassland habitats as well (certain night lizards and sparrows).
Monday’s post served as the latest public misstep by Hobbs.
Earlier this month, a clip of the governor venting her frustrations to the media over her inability to lead or control the state legislature went viral. Hobbs was unable to convince GOP lawmakers of her pick for the Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH). Hobbs’ lamentations to the press were directed at one of the key lawmakers behind rejecting her nominations, State Senator Jake Hoffman. A significant reason for the rejection of Hobbs’ latest pick concerned an auditor general sunset review last fall which reported serious and expensive issues with the ADOH under Hobbs’ nominee. Hoffman criticized Hobbs’ behavior as a “full blown temper tantrum.”
Last month, state legislative leaders confronted Hobbs over the $122 million shortfall within the Arizona State Developmental Disabilities Program. GOP leaders and the state treasurer accused the governor of “gross financial mismanagement.”
In an effort to counteract the struggles of her administration and improve her public image ahead of her reelection bid next year, Hobbs has adopted GOP-leaning policies and stances as of late.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
